The Bureau: Change your Way of Working

Eva-mebel.xyz is proud to show you its very last work: The Bureau. A luxury coworking space, the result of a partnership with Atelier MKD. What was the idea? Marika Dru was in charge of the layout, and we were in charge of choosing the furniture. Just near Pont de l’Alma, the made to measure creations of Italian studios go together with bargain-hunted pieces of furniture and textures we selected. We could not have imagined a more beautiful setting than this one – a setting full of wood and marble – for Rasmus Michau’s and Laurent Geneslay’s new project. These two friends wanted to restore the respectability of the workplace, which is too many times caricatured. There is no room for a coffee machine in there. You can taste a black coffee – from Belleville coffee-roasting place – at the counter, with Italian sweets made by the team of Luca Laffi, the chef. The two bosses are waiting for you in the restaurant. They are very present, care for the people working there and go as far as preparing them a creative programme of very private festivities every month. “Good life, good work”, as they often say. This expression takes on its full meaning there. Arnaud Rebotini and JoeyStarr – both musicians – will become lecturers for The Bureau, and numerous artists will have their works of art hanged up in the bluish corridors of the Art Deco building. Designed to stimulate its members, the place, who just opened, will add to its range of services an access to a cinema, a spa and a fitness centre. And of course a concierge service and brand new technical installations. These privileges remind us of the English clubs. The Bureau has their elegance. The Milanese spirit in the volumes of the 28, cours Albert Ier makes us want to go back in time and get lost in the 60’s. Lino Ventura would smoke his cigarette while playing a game of billiard there, while Aldo Maccione, true to himself, would show off.

, 28 Cours Albert 1er – 75008 Paris.

Rasmus, Laurent, Marika, who are you?

Rasmus

I’ve been an entrepreneur in digital and entertainment for 10 years now. I also teach 2 hours a week at Sciences Po, Paris Institute of Political Studies, and I am the father of Magnus, the most beautiful baby in the world.

Laurent

I am a former trader. After 16 years working in investment banking, I really wanted to create something real. But above all else, Rasmus and I are two old friends who have really different and complementary experiences.

Marika

After my degree in interior architecture and design in the ESAG Penninghen (ndlr. a French school of artistic direction and interior design), I have worked in agencies in Paris and New York for 6 years. When I got back to France in 2008, I started up in Paris.

How did you get the idea of The Bureau?

Rasmus

I was travelling in New York, and there I saw . I thought we needed a place like this in Paris. Actually, every time I started up a project, real estate was always a problem. Laurent and I wanted to create the office of our dreams. An office that would suit the Parisian entrepreneurs’ needs: practical, beautiful and with a real atmosphere. This is why we decided to go further than NeueHouse by including a real restaurant, a gym.

Laurent

Business centres have been existing for a long time, but the idea of developing a concept of contemporary and upmarket “coworking” comes from Rasmus. He got the inspiration from New York. In this city, a lot of new places such as NeueHouse appear. We wanted to adapt this concept to Paris.

What did you want to achieve with the concept of “luxury coworking”?

Rasmus

The goal was to fit in a deep trend of office real estate, which needs to create multiple workplaces, to bring a cultural content and entertainment to workplaces, and, most of all, which needs a framework in which everyone is glad to develop projects every day. We had a market study, and we saw there was nothing high-end in Paris – and we totally assume this positioning.

Laurent

We wanted to recreate the place where we would have loved to work ourselves. The luxury in our project doesn’t come from its location, but from an amount of details we thought about and which makes a great difference when you want to choose your offices.

Why did you choose Eva-mebel.xyz to select your furniture and Atelier MKD for the architecture?

Rasmus

Eva-mebel.xyz’s sense of observation and its network of producers and sellers enabled us to create atmospheres thanks to the furniture we got in great conditions. When you mix this with the way Atelier MKD designed the spaces and concretized our desires, I think we succeeded in creating a unique place.

Laurent

Atelier MKD won our tender. It may seem odd, but we absolutely wanted to work with an architect who had never worked on offices before. Eva-mebel.xyz was obvious to us, and Atelier MKD agreed with us. Eva-mebel.xyz has become a reference and we love the way they talk about decoration.

Marika, how would you define your style in terms of interior design?

Marika

I love the plan and I spend a lot of time working on it. The way the spaces work together and their transition have to be very fluid so they become obvious. The way you work on light is very important. I really consider the places that already exist. They tell us a story which we are going to try to improve while respecting it. I like mixing elements from the past and very contemporary ones, from our time. When at the end of a project we have the feeling that the space has always been like this, it’s a success. Simplicity and evidence require a lot of work and reflection.

What were your inspirations and references for The Bureau?

Marika

They have been multiple. Laurent and Rasmus, the founders of The Bureau, came to see me with a very powerful and inspiring concept. There is of course a reflection about what must be the modern office life, about what must be shared and what must stay individual. For the offices, we looked a lot at what had been done in Nordic countries and in North America these last years, and in particular in order to work on the relation public/private. We need as many spaces of “sharing”, where ideas can flow and communication becomes simple, as more intimate places, far from all requests and perfect for reflection. This combination between community and individuals are The Bureau’s special feature. For the decoration, designed with Eva-mebel.xyz team, we wanted to remain “simple and chic” – our minds need to be in a quiet place so we can work well – by bringing a “French touch” that I would define as an attention to detail and a refinement we’ve accepted. For the ground floor, which is really a collective space, our inspirations were more local. Paris is full of new qualitative, well-thought, singular and lively restaurants and cafés. It was important to us to feel part of our city and its lifestyle. The Bureau is really adapted to our “Parisian” way of life. We have active and intense lives in a world in which everything has to go very fast. Our mission is to make this “speed” and our ways of life – the one we all love and want to preserve and perpetuate – coexist.

“Feeling as well at your office as at home”: do you think this expression is truer than ever?

Rasmus

Yes, given the time we spent in the office, it’s important.

Laurent

We’ve done everything to make you feel better at The Bureau than at your home!

In three words, what’s the spirit of The Bureau?

Rasmus

Art of working.

Laurent

Community and art of living!

Inspiring talks, Italian restaurant, exhibitions, yoga classes (…) Can you tell us about all these initiatives that make The Bureau a unique and lively place.

Rasmus

Actually, these initiatives come from personal desires or ambitions adapted to reality. Who has never dreamt of having his/her own restaurant where he/she could invite fascinating people? Or to have his/her own gallery where he/she could exhibit the work of inspiring artists? Or his/her own gym? With The Bureau, we succeeded in doing all of this.

Laurent

All these initiatives are part of the creation of a community. To unite people, we have to find things they have in common. What’s better than having a restaurant to gather and share good moments? Culinary arts are part of the French way of life. Sports, private views and conferences are many opportunities to discover and meet people.

What’s next?

Rasmus & Laurent

The Surprise !

Marika

For me, a hotel in Cadaqués, a house in the heart of Paris and more confidential projects!

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